Symptoms to look out for are coughing, chest pain, breathing trouble and fatigue. Pic: Rex

‘It was an unfortunate thing that happened, but if I had not told my wife that he swallowed the water, and if she had not seen that article, I think we would’ve ended up dispelling it as a regular sickness.’

Dry drowning is a rare medical condition that occurs predominantly in children and happens after they breath in water. While it doesn’t reach the lungs, it causes the vocal chords to spasm and tighten, eventually shutting down the airway.

Secondary drowning can take up to 24 hours to develop and occurs when water gets into the lungs and starts to build up over time, making it impossible to breathe.

Conditions present in the same way and the symptoms to look out for are coughing, chest pain, trouble breathing and fatigue.